Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa announced on March 11 that he had formed a “strategic alliance” with US businessman Erik Prince, founder of private security firm Blackwater, in a move to tackle the country's escalating drug trafficking and organised crime crisis.

“Organised crime has sown fear and believed it can operate with impunity. Their time is up. International aid is beginning in Ecuador,” Noboa announced on X, sharing an image of himself alongside Prince.

“We [have] established a strategic alliance to strengthen our capabilities in the fight against narco-terrorism and to protect our waters from illegal fishing,” he added.

Prince's controversial background includes founding Blackwater (now Academi) in 1997, a private security company later implicated in serious human rights violations during the Iraq War. Prince, now an ardent supporter of US President Donald Trump, sold the company to investors in 2010 but remains a polarising figure in international security circles.

This partnership marks a significant escalation in Noboa's security strategy as Ecuador grapples with unprecedented gang-related violence. The country's homicide rate has skyrocketed from 6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 47 in 2023, though it's projected to decline slightly to 38 per 100,000 by 2024, as reported by Infobae.

Situated between Colombia and Peru, major cocaine producers, Ecuador's coastal position has made it a critical transit route for narcotics destined for North American and European markets.

Since taking office, Noboa, heir to a banana empire, has pursued aggressive policies against criminal organisations, including an intensive security operation by Ecuador's National Police and supplying them with a massive new cache of arms.

Critics point out that violence persists despite these efforts, while human rights organisations have documented allegations of mistreatment and extrajudicial detentions.

Political analysts suggest the timing aligns with Noboa's efforts to strengthen his security credentials before facing leftist challenger Luisa González in the April 13 runoff, where he seeks a second term. The government recently announced a $1mn financial reward for information leading to the capture of notorious drug kingpin "Fito" Macías.

At 37 years old, centre-right Noboa is the youngest president in the country's history. He served a reduced term after winning the November 2023 snap election, which former President Guillermo Lasso called after dissolving the legislative body to avoid impeachment.